Back rest



J. c. HELL 2,23 Z736 BACK REST Filed July 21, 1939 v Inventor JOE CLJLVER HILL,

A iiomeys Patented Apr. 8, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to back rests for seats, and more particularly to detachable back rests for portable bleacher seats in football stadiums, baseball parks, and the like where the seats comprise backless benches or elongated planks.

An object of the present invention is to improve generally upon such types of portable back rests as are now generally known and patented; and the invention together with its objects and advantages Will be best understood from a study of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view through a portion of bleacher seats illustrating the application of the invention thereto.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of an upright and an integral attaching member associated therewith in accordance with thevpresent invention.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view illustrating the manner of using a bolt-equipped nut for positively securing the back rest to the seat when desired.

Referring more in detail to the drawing it will be seen that in the embodiment illustrated the back rest comprises an integral standard 5 rising from a base member 6 that at its free end is equipped with a U-shaped seat engaging memher I, the standard 5, base 6, and clamp member 1 being all formed from a single piece of strap metal, preferably, and with the base member 6 disposed substantially at right angles to the standard 5 and reversely bent upon itself with the reverse bend thereof merging into the U- shaped clamp l.

The clamp 1 provides a pair of coacting clamping jaws 8 and 9, the jaw 8 being preferably provided on the inner face thereof with a roughened gripping surface l and the jaw 9 at the open end of the U-shaped clamp 'I having a sharpened prong ll integral therewith and extending for substantially the full width of the jaw 9 and projecting upwardly to bite into the underside of the seat bench or plank 12 of the portable bleachers indicated generally by the reference numeral l3.

Also at the free extremity thereof the jaw 8 has a feathered edge l4 so as not to interfere with the comfort of the user or endanger the clothes of such user by catching on said edge, and possibly resulting in the tearing of such clothes.

A back support l suitably shaped to conform to the curvature of the back is also provided, and the same may be padded or constructed as found desirable.

The back support I5 is provided on the rear side thereof with an integral guide loop or channel [6 that slidably embraces the standard 5.

The loop I5 is provided with a threaded aperture that accommodates a thumb bolt ll adapted to bind against the standard 5 for securing the back support I 5 at the desired position of vertical adjustment on the standard 5.

If desired, and for more permanently securing the back rest to the bench or plank 12 of the bleacher seat, jaws 8 and 9 of the clamp l and the base member 6 are provided with aligned openings for accommodating a bolt l8 that extends through said openings and an opening IS in the seat platform or plank I2 as shown in Figure 3. The bolt 18 is equipped with a wing nut 20 adapted to be threaded home against the underside of the base 6 for positively securing the back rest on the bleacher seat-platform or plank I2.

The device being of spring material the jaws 8 and 9 thereof will readily give so as to accommodate therebetween the seat, bench or plank l2, and will also tend to contract towards one another for positive contact with said seat bench or plank.

Thus it will be seen that the clamp I will remain positively in engagement with the seat bench or plank l2 whether or not the bolt I8 is employed.

It will be further appreciated that a back rest embodying the features of the present invention may be readily and easily applied to a backless seat or bench, such as form a part of bleachers and/or stadia seats.

It is thought that a clear understanding of the construction, utility and advantages of an invention of this character will be had without a more detailed description thereof.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. In a back rest for a seat, a base member provided adjacent one end thereof with a clamp for engaging and straddling an edge portion of a seat, and at an opposite end thereof with a standard, and a back-supporting member mounted on said standard, said clamp being substantially U-shaped and embodying a pair of coacting resilient jaw members adapted to accommodate therebetween the edge portion of a seat, and each of said jaw members being provided with means for positively engaging the top and bottom surfaces respectively of said seat.

2. In a back rest for a seat, a base member provided adjacent one end thereof with a clamp for engaging and straddling an edge portion of a seat, and at an opposite end thereof with a standard, and a back-supporting member mounted on said standard, said clamp being substantially U- shaped and embodying a pair of integral coacting resilient jaw members adapted to accommodate therebetween the edge portion of a seat, and each of said jaw members being provided with means for positively engaging the top and bottom surfaces respectively of said seat, and said back support having means slidably engaging said standard, and also equipped with means for positively engaging said standard for securing said back 3. A detachable back rest for a seat, said back rest embodying a standard provided with a base extending laterally therefrom, a resilient substantially U-shaped seat-engaging clamp connected with the base, and a back-supporting member slidably mounted on said standard and equipped with means engageable with said standard for securing said back support at the desired position of adjustment on said standard, said U- shaped clamp having the top and bottom jaws thereof provided with apertures for aligning with an aperture in a seat, and a nut-equipped bolt engaging in the aperture of said jaw members and the aperture in said seat for positively secursupport at the desired position of vertical ad- 15 me said clamp e a d With t Seatjustment on said standard.

JOE CULVER HILL. 

